So far artworks usually went to friends, friends of the friends and friends trice removed. Sometimes I would give an artwork as a present. This time is different. I can say - another step to the free artist’s life!

(”Spirits Of Fire”), 61×46 cm, metallic photo-paper:

Special, biggest thanks go to Regina Vinitsker of The Silverman Group and Elizabeth Marsh of SL Management Group for facilitating this show.

It happened! Ilya made an unbelievable, 11hr-breakthrough and delivered 26 heavy framed photographs to Hartford, CT, USA! And opened a show of my works. Only 1hr drive from my favourite artist Michael Whelan (!). A bunch of posters for the opening, a sophisticated art selling site, lots of nerves - in the past, now it’s time for a little relaxation.

I had to live in two time zones during those days. It’s a pity, I cannot attend neither opening, nor the show itself Only the photos from the opening give me comfort.

Hello again fellow-Creative-Beings.I hope that since my last article you have had a chance to digest the new information from “Designing 101” and apply the knowledge to your décor in some way.For those of you that were brave enough to comment on my article, I salute you.

Today I come to you with a question that you probably do not hear often.What are you hanging on the walls of your offices or homes? To be more specific, do you know how it’s printed? Do you know what compounds are in the inks, dyes, pigments, and papers? Does it outgas or offgas? Is it healthy? Do you care?

Creating sustainable, healthy interior graphics for interior decor in commercial and residential settings does not happen accidentally.Sustainable, “Green” fine art and photographic reproductions of the highest quality are infused with a high degree of care and detail while being produced.Many clients do not even realize these factors exist when shopping for printed art and simply never ask about it.

Recently I inquired about Anastasiy Safari’s printing and mounting methods, in particular the Fire and Wood piece.I think you will be just as impressed as I was when you find out how many steps this extraordinary piece had undergone before it reached the white walls of the gallery it rests on today.

Preparations (shortened story)

Framing new works. That was an interesting exercise. For starters I had to pick which works from the previous show will not make it to this one. That was a heart breaking experience with every matted work i took out of the frame. All of them seamed to have matured while waiting for the next show. In addition this venue had perfect track lighting to bring out the colors in all of the darker works.

My back is killing me (my basement)

Reality check is in the house (Esti)

40X60 peice of 3/16 foamboard(damn monster)

Making a frame for Key to the forest. That was rather insane proposition. The only thing that I did not have in short supply for this project was determination. The artwork is 28″X39″ and I was building a frame from scratch without many tools to fall back on. Luckily in the process I complained enough about it to by standers for one of them to step in and offer to make a frame for me. Brad has a nice set of wood working tools and a stack of black walnut that he was eager to take for a spin. He made me a wonderful frame with a natural oil finish that matches the artwork wonderfully. I took it to a local framing shop with an artwork and had it glassed and dust sealed right on the day that I was hanging the exhibit.

If you think we’re disappeared – that’s not true. We were in a rush preparing the new show. So…

ILYa GotFRYd presents Anastasiy Safari Fine Art Photography show.In the spirit of modern times Safari brings you uplifting decorative show . On Nov 29th at 5:00PM you will have an opportunity to brighten your day. Open your mind to the possibilities and your wallets for a chance to win one
of the artworks on display. Wine and cheese reception will feature raffle with the chance to win an artwork of your choice. We are looking forward to seeing you in Cleveland, OH, USA at Lake Erie Artist Gallery in Tower City. The Opening is Nov 29 @ 5:00 pm.

We’re also celebrating this day the birthday of our distinguished friend and art agent (as well as our main blog author). Don’t miss the opportunity to meet him in person and let him take you away into the aerial world of art with his unquenchable energy flux and friendliness.

Happy birthday, Ilya!

Remember to park and ride to protect the environment and save on parking.
http://www.gcrta.org/ro_park.asp

Matt’s Pino Noir is as smooth, well natured and flavorful as his personality. This wine maker and art connoisseur can wield a samurai sword and nourish his 13 year old pup to health. His meaty warm hand shake and “Sure, Sure…” that fallowed my suggestions was a welcome change of pace for me. Studio of 5 rings was suggested to me by a co-worker that only heard about it, but never had a chance to visit. I walked into this studio above a store front in Rocky River and was pleased to find a well setup show room with racks of wine and well hung and lit pictures on the walls. Selling Matt on Anastasiy’s work was not difficult in part due to Asian centric portfolio of Anastasiy at the time or so I think. We scheduled the show to open in 6 months and left it at that.

Opening night at Studio of 5 rings

About a month before the opening, based on my previous experience, I started worrying about a promotion. After staying in the shadows for almost half a year I contacted Matt about promoting the show and was pleased to receive immediate response. To my pleasant surprise he had covered all of the local free outlets and sent press release to several local media outlets. In addition we have received some coverage on a web page of a local newspaper. Later we have thrown some resources together to run promotions in local newspapers. Safari had created several promotional templates for the occasion.

I dedicated a day to come in and hang a show. I ended up helping Matt with this task, which he executed masterfully. All of the walls were patched up and bared no scuff marks from the massive paintings that occupide them a week ago. Everything was hung by the meter stick and exactly in accord with artist’s specifications. I was getting an uneasy feeling of having little to worry about. It is a very strange feeling to have everything done ahead of time.

This is a spur of the moment writing that resulted from a comment in a previous post. From my experience there are several criteria dictating the price of an initial sale that I can tell you about right off the bet.

Step one. A relatively quick research of the local artists can tell you what to start with. You can, pick an existing photographer, print and frame your images to be of the same quality as his and put up a price close to his. This implies several things: you are showing to the crowd that he is showing to, your works strike you as similar in quality (craftsmanship), your image measurements and your framing are truly adequate or surpass those of his, he is actually a selling artist.

Next one would be pricing from experience. There are tones of art fares and shows held through out States. Pitch a tent in one, set up shop, look around at the prices of others and set yours. Have sets of large original prints at respectable price and put together a bin of knock-offs(mat only, 1/4 of the original, price accordingly). Play with the price in the small bin and see when people will buy. Try 4X the prices on the large works. Also if a person is interested in a small image try to sell her a large version of one.

Third approach is a gallery set price. It is good to show your works as much as possible, however you can tell experienced gallery curator if they can price your work for you. The reasons they can are as follows: they advertise regularly and know the abilities of their clientele, they have a reputation to uphold so the price has to be with in range, they have a general sense of which works would be more attractive to a client. If you have been selected by such a gallery you have a solid price for your works.

Another good criteria is a first sell. If you have sold a work of certain size and certain packaging for a certain price you have a good standard to measure against. In fact if going forward you become better known and the prices of your initial sales go up it will imply that the prices of your earlier works are now higher. This is where art as an investment comes in.

On the note of setting a good price for your works, there is a noble way to go about it. Either donate your work to a charitable auction or as a charity to sponsor your work and donate proceedings to that charity. Some artists would even put a plexiglass bin and have people throw in recipts for a fraction of the artwrok’s cost with an opportunity to win it and proceedings going towards a charity of artist’s choice. In this instance you get publicity, a price for your works and a good feeling that your works really ment soething for a number of people. The only true risk in this instance is to end up with a low price for your work or an unsold work due to a price that is too high for an auction. That is however something you would have to gamble with.

There are dangerous pitfalls to worry about. A price attached to an artwork can have a direct effect on people’s perception of it. If you price an artwork as one of our readers suggested (cost of materials and assembly labour + a little bit for artists daily expanses) you are running a risk of ruining your true worth and your image. Humans tend to attach emotions to money, so if you try to appease their financial abilities you are running a risk of turning your work of Fine Art into another addition to their decor.

Since I first heard about LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) in 2006, I always wanted to visit it. When I fulfilled my dream, I was not disappointed. If nothing else, that experience opened my eyes to contemporary art. I would describe my state of mind after going to the museum as a cultural shock. I wouldn’t say that I didn’t enjoy everything that I saw and experienced there, but LACMA’s expose of contemporary art that was on display last June really surprised and even frustrated me. Before going to LACMA, I was familiar with some modern artworks and was expecting to see something that will look like the Pablo Picasso display at J. Paul Getty Museum (a lot of expression, not much to discuss). But, much to my surprise, the last generation of contemporary artists gone even farther afield. They don’t even try to make their masterpieces look like something that could be exhibited. Some artworks that I saw at LACMA, if they were decomposed, would never remind anyone of any piece of art.

The first showpiece I saw was an installation. Everything took place in an isolated room with sparkling walls and loud techno. The spectators watched the video that was dedicated to nothing and, therefore, made no sense. My next stop was in front of the wall all spangled with small carton cards. The slogans that were written on cartons proclaimed, ”Buy one taco and get the second one free,” and other ordinary things that we, consumers, see each day. Maybe it symbolized the meaninglessness of our existence. When I felt that it was time for something more predictable, I went to LACMA’s permanent exposition. There I saw René Magritte’s “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” and, by the irony, I felt much better in front of this surrealistic painting. As any art nonpro, I always feel more comfortable in front of the creations that someone already classified and explained.